Ownership of Maplewood Manor transferred to Local Development Corporation

BALLSTON SPA -- After months of heated debate and rounds of public hearings, Maplewood Manor was officially transferred into the hands of a Local Development Corporation on Tuesday evening by the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors.

The move is the latest step in the county's plan to sell the county-owned nursing home to a private operator. County officials say it must be sold because it is a drain on the county's budget.

The vote passed 16-5. The supervisors who voted against transferring the county-owned nursing home were: Preston Jenkins of Moreau, Joanne Yepsen of Saratoga Springs, Patti Southworth of Ballston, Dick Lucia of Corinth and Dan Lewza of Milton. Supervisor Mary Ann Johnson of Day, who voted against the creation of the LDC in November, voted to approve the transfer Tuesday.

Even though Chairman Alan Grattidge says the resolution cannot be subject to a permissive referendum, members of the Maplewood Manor Family Council say they are moving forward in an effort to gather the approximately 12,000 signatures they think will force the issue to be put before voters.

Advertisement

Grattidge said the board was resistant to putting the controversial county matter to a public vote because the process would be long and the county's finances are not in good shape.

"I guess at this point, the board felt that the financial situations were such that as the elected representatives, we felt that we needed to move this thing toward privatization and not have this be a long, drawn out process of referendums and votes and what not," Grattidge said after the vote.

Lewza, a supervisor who has remained quiet about his reasons for opposing the move to privatize the facility, opened up after the board meeting had ended.

"What I'm concerned about is the $7 million that we already borrowed from the LDC," he said, referring to money county officials borrowed against the value of Maplewood Manor in order to balance the 2013 budget -- a process similar to a reverse mortgage. "If we don't sell this by the end of this year, then we have to borrow another $7 million. So that puts us at about $14 million in the hole before we even start the process... we should do budgets based on concrete numbers, instead of numbers that could happen. And I'm not saying that that won't happen, but I don't like to take those chances," he said.

Lewza went on to say that he also felt the county owes its seniors the best healthcare, which he says oftentimes comes from public, not private, facilities.

Before the vote, Yepsen read a statement explaining her decision to vote against the resolution.

"My priority all along and still is, with sound financial planning and quality care for our seniors. The LDC option does not ensure either," Yepsen said.

Yepsen said she has yet to meet a county resident, Maplewood Manor employee or resident who thought selling the facility was a good idea, and voiced her opinion that the county should let voters decide the outcome of the nursing home.

Grattidge says the seven-member board running the LDC will likely be meeting within a month. The first step for the board is to select a broker to help them prepare a request for proposals, for agencies interested on bidding on Maplewood Manor.